Consumers often enjoy non-alcoholic, tomato-flavored beverages, such as tomato juice and related commercial products. These products often are consumed for their nutritional content, including vitamins and minerals, as well as their sweet, fruity and sometimes spicy flavor. For instance, a variety of commercially marketed tomato juice products include pepper flavors to provide a spicy or zesty taste to the beverage.
Alcoholic beverages, particularly beer, are also popular for their taste and the social experience associated with consuming such beverages. A variety of different alcohols, such as beers are commercially available, from light beers to stouts. Many different taste profiles are provided by these numerous beer varieties, which may be selected depending on an individual consumer's preference. Some consumers may prefer beers that impart a slightly sweet, fruity or even a spicy taste, which is not provided by currently available beers.
Although consumers may have individually poured tomato juices into their beer in the past, such combinations do not provide shelf-stable beverage products. Moreover, tomato juices have high water and low solids content, unlike concentrated tomato products, such as tomato pastes.
There is a need, therefore, for beers and other alcoholic beverages that have a slightly sweet and fruity taste or even a spicy flavor profile, which may be provided by a concentrated tomato-based composition with or without spices. There also is a need for tomato-flavored alcoholic compositions, particularly beer and spirits, which provide a dominant tomato flavor. Such beverages may be ready-to-drink and shelf stable.